Winter, 2008
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Hezzy’s Best of Maine
Take a bit of time and think about the Maine you love while enjoying sharing with others or for its solitude.
Imagine your favorite places, the people who inspire you, the views that have captured your soul, and the outdoor activities that you enjoy the most.
Organize your thoughts and make a list.
That’s what we’ve done with Hezzy’s Best of Maine.
These are our Maine favorites that we’re sharing with you.
And guess, what…we are always adding to the list so check it out on occasion as there is always something new…..
Put Your Best Face On!
Harbor Beauty Bar
395 Main Street, Rockland, 596-9913
While visiting Rockland recently, we came across this owner-owned and managed Skin Care and Fragrance shop. Crisp and attractive from the outside, we were immediately attracted to its aesthetic and were not disappointed. Afterall, the annual fragrance purchase needed to be made, and there is no time like the present. Expecting only to make a fragrance purchase, I left with some other goodies for my skin as well as having a delightful conversation with Suzan Theriault, one of the owners. She and her sister opened this charm-of-a-place two years ago and appear to meet many skin care and fragrance needs for men and women in the mid-coast area. It’s a great respite from the impersonal and commercialized experience one encounters in major department stores where most of these purchases are typically made. While visiting Harbor Beauty Bar, I opted for an eye makeover from Gretchen - who did a great job and left me lookin’ good with smokey colors. I also left with some Bobbi Brown lip gloss, a new Chanel parfum, and a Clarins eye shadow. It was the perfect pick me up for a cold, wintry day. Who needs a face-lift when Harbor Beauty Bar exists? If you can’t make it to the shop, their professional, easy to navigate web-site offers an online selection of luxury cosmetics and fragrances for women and men, all shipped from the Rockland store. They carry lines such as Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Bliss, Clinique, Frederik Fekkai and other luxury products for discriminating consumers.
Best Small Inn Bed!
Pomegranate Inn
49 Neal Street, Portland, 7
207-772-1006
If only every time you needed a bed away from home the Pomegranate Inn was there for you to unwind in! As a member of the Select Registry Group of small, independently-owned hotels, this inn is one of Maine’s real gems. Located in the Western Promenade section of town, the Pomegranate is not far from the many of Portland's terrific restaurants and entertainment venues. Let’s simply say that this is an extraordinary place to stay.
The owner is an interior designer and former antiques dealer who has transformed this 19th Century Victorian into a feast for the eyes. It's a magical respite from the country kitsch so common with many small inns in Maine. The Pomegranate Inn is a monument to impeccable taste, creative energy, and fearless decorating sense.
Every room is filled with interesting antiques, original artwork, and comfortable furniture, all put together with an eye sensitive to design. The colors throughout are bold and unusual objects add a dimension to each room. The common rooms are high-ceiling and filled with natural light. Faux-marble columns flank the doorways. During the evening, unique lamps and light fixtures throw off a warm, cozy light. All the guest rooms have phone, TV, and private baths. Many of rooms have gas fireplaces. Internet access throughout. Breakfast is out of this world. Here’s the secret: The Pomegranate now has affordable off-season rates that make this a fun winter hangout.
Best Fork in The County:
Horn of Plenty Restaurant
Main Street, Island Falls
207-463-2861
Back in the mid-nineties, while tooling around on one of our adventures, we discovered the Horn of Plenty up in The County (a.k.a. "Aroostook"). We’ve never forgotten the delicious food and comfortable atmosphere we found in this unexpected place, Island Falls.
Recently we were happy to learn that Nancy Levin and Bill Roderick, the owners, are still offering great food (with a new international twist), the samehomey, yet professional, service, and all at affordable prices. Nothing fancy, no pretense. The simplicity of the Main Street storefront does not reveal the gourmet wonders waiting inside. Simple wonderful foods, made with quality ingredients, somehow works without a wrinkle in this part of Maine. Hence their success: the locals love it and so do we.
Previously, one of the owners trained at Johnson and Wales, and the other owned a popular tavern in Rhode Island. After they teamed up, they moved to Island Falls in the early nineties and opened Horn of Plenty. When they first opened, they introduced many new flavors and menu offerings - many people from up that way had never tried such things. At the time, ployes, the French-Canadian specialty potato pancakes, were still the food of choice in The County. Time won their customers' hearts, and now so palate pleasers such as seafood tetrazzini, venison lasagna, Portugese pasta, and Cajun cod are among the samplings on the regular menu offerings. And yes, you can always get a juicy, tender burger as well as a generous bowl of hearty soup. It’s worth the trip.
Island Falls is a really neat northern Maine town that is very welcoming. Someone recently told me that there is a well-known yoga retreat, William Sewall House, in town that has been featured in a number of national lifestyle magazines. We have to head back up so we can report on that enterprise. Plus, we’ll have the added benefit of experiencing another memorable meal at Horn of Plenty. The drive from Bangor up Route 95 is about 1 1/2 hours. You know . . . not too far from the Lumberman’s Museum in Patten? A great day trip.
Oh, those Maine Potatoes! Fox Potato Chips, Mapleton, Maine.
Now this is a good chip. We sell these at our coffee bar, the Maine Grind in Ellsworth, and they walk off the shelf. Crisp, tasty, and not oily. This is a new Maine start-up that makes the only authentic potato chip using only Maine grown potatoes. Handmade by hand in Mapleton, Maine. No preservatives.
Location:
Available at select retailers throughout Maine.
Fish Prepared at its Best: Street & Company, Portland
Dana Street, one of Maine’s stand-out resident chefs, opened Street & Company in 1989. Fish is the order of the day at this venerable Maine institution. The menu concept is simple: start with only fresh, quality fish and ingredients. Add a drizzle of butter, olive oil, and garlic; cook in a wood fired oven by searing, sauteeing, or baking. The bistro-style kitchen is right smack in the center of the dining room, making for a wonderful dimension to eating out with the kitchen activities taking place, up close and personal. Combined with the chatter, buzz, and energy of the comfy dining area, copper-topped tables, and a great bar, this fixture of the Old Port is Maine’s gold standard for the current culinary movement that has swept up the coast. You will never be disappointed. Simple. Fresh. Creative. Umami at its best!
Location/Contact: Street and Company, 22 Wharf Street, Portland, 775-0887
Hippest Fish in the Raw: Dip Net, Port Clyde
We love this waterside place! Chef Scott has created a menu of fresh fish and lobsters that is legendary. All the way down in Port Clyde, it’s worth a ride any summer evening just for the hipness factor. It’s the only lobster palace in the world with prayer flags lining the walls. The wait staff are all cute chicks who look great in the t-shirts with the Dip Net logo emblazed across their chests. Every mooring in the protected, famous harbor has a working fishing boat or a glamorous yacht tied to it. The food couldn’t be better: it's all fresh, hand-selected sea food from local boats and farms. Noisy, small, and lively, the Dip Net is lobster in the raw at its best. The building is a shanty atmosphere that is so real no Hollywood set designer would never even begin to interpret and replicate. It’s just so real. Don’t leave without trying the fried oysters. Bring your own bottle.
Location: Port Clyde,
372-6307 / www.dipnetrestaurant.blogspot.com
Sandwiches that Fill: Aurora, Portland
Lobster Pound with Best View: Tidal Falls, Hancock
If the National Register had a listing for best lobster pound views, this would be number one! For many years we lived across the channel from this magnificent spot, so we’ve spent many a summer evening enjoying the splendid view and savoring every last bite of delicious Maine lobster from this treasure. Purchased by the Frenchman’s Bay Conservancy a couple of years back, this incredible piece of property would have been a developer’s orgy. Knowing it is protected makes the lobster in the raw experience all the more satisfying. The combination is winning: the sweetest, most succulent lobster from the frigid waters of the Gulf of Maine with an up-close view of a craggy and rocky narrow inlet through which the water gushes with great fanfare, in and out with the tide. Every evening the seals, eagles, and blue heron put on a show for those lucky enough to experience this great place. Patrons order at the cook shack window picking out their own size lobster and having it cooked fresh to order. Grab a seat in the waterside pavilion or at one of the dozen picnic tables scattered along the grassy shore under the apple and oak trees. The silhouette of the Sullivan Bridge in the background as a backdrop to the north is another visual treat. BYOB.
Location / Contact: Tidal Falls, East Side Road, Hancock, 422-6457
Restaurant to Keep You Healthy: Chase's Daily, Belfast
Remember when many communities throughout Maine had a superb vegetarian restaurant? (Hey, I know. For 11 years we owned one of them!) Time has changed all that and so few places of that era remain. However, a few new vegetarian restaurants have sprouted up in places that are adding a new twist and dimension to the local flavor. Our favorite is Chase's Daily in Belfast. It's a winning combination of gourmet cooking restaurant, green grocery, and bakery. These guys really know what they are doing. A simple, yet striking interior delights your soul as soon as you are seated. Stop in for a salad and soup and you will appreciate the Umami of an heirloom tomato salad or butternut squash soup made from squash straight from the root cellar. The Chase family owns a 500 acre farm in Freedom, where most of their produce comes from.
Location / Contact: Chases Daily, 96 Main Street, Belfast, 338-0555
Motherlode of Whoppie Pies: Big G’s, Benton Ave, Winslow,873-7808, www.big-g-s-deli.com
Years ago when one of our sons played traveling soccer we always looked forward to the Winslow game because no game was complete without leaving town with one of Big G’s whoppie pies. Legendary, they are the biggest and sweetest whoppie pies made anywhere. There should be a state sanctioned sign on Route 95 directing customers to this landmark place. To top it off everyone who works at Big G’s is pleasant, helpful and fun. Worth the trip even if Winslow isn’t on your radar screen.
Best Sporting Camp: Multi-day Paddle Trip: Moose River, Jackman, www.cryoftheloon.net/bowtrip/
We all fantasize about taking a canoe trip in the North Maine Woods. All the hot spots come to mind like Lobster Lake, Moosehead and the Allagash. Lack of time, the challenge of car shuttles and limited places to camp oftentimes get in the way of making plans. Procrastinate no more! This is one great canoe trip that is easy to organize and requires no car shuttle. Believe it or not the Moose River is a loop and you actually return where you started. Just south of Jackman on Route 201 you begin the 3 or 4 day trip. This is one of the most well-known multi-day paddle trips in the state that is traveled by many individuals each year. From scenic, island studded ponds Attean and Holeb to short, fun-filled class I and II rapids the trip offers something for all paddlers. A mile portage can be a challenge, but a local outfitter can help you with it if you’re not up to it. We’ve done it without much difficulty, however. A truly wonderful and memorable canoe trip for even the most accomplished canoeist. Here’s a tip: due to its popularity take this trip early in the spring before the black flies infiltrate and the campsites get littered with the remains of other campers.
Keeping Fit by Coastal Hiking, Cutler, Maine Bureau of Public Lands, 827-5936
We love these coastal hikes. This trail in Cutler is the best in upland hiking along a craggy shore, with distant views to Grand Manan along with the strong tides of the Bay of Fundy right at the shore. Birdlife abounds while during the summer and early fall whale sightings are common. If you are looking for spectacular beauty, scenic vistas and an all-day hike this day trip is for you! It usually takes us about 5 hours.
The Cutler trail system is roughly a figure eight shape that is a ten mile loop with half of the trail along the sea cliffs and the other half inland. The seaside trail ascends and descends between cliffs and cobblestone beaches, with many places to watch wildlife both marine (seals and whales) and birds. The inland trail passes through a few wetland areas where the trail is a series of bog bridges and forests where the entire forest floor is covered in lush green moss. It looks almost like a fairy tale. On several places along the trail rocky crags poke up over the trees and allow a great view of the ocean and the surrounding area. The three campsites are approx. a hundred yards apart and are quite small, but offer great views and protection from the wind. Fall, spring and summer are the best times to take this wonderful walk. The signage isn’t so great so pay attention to where you are.
North Woods 5 Star: Lodge at Moosehead, Greenville, lodgeatmooseheadlake.com, 695-4400
This is the ultimate in roughing it in style. The main lodge was built in 1917 as a summer home and has been exquisitely restored and updated with all of the amenities any modern day rusticator could ask for. The beds are divine, the views outstanding and the atmosphere comfy and understated. Try the Katahdin Suite, the bathroom has a fireplace! Each of the rooms in the main building has its own theme which is carefully reflected in the handmade furniture. The best kudo it has going for it is that it was voted best lawn in 2003 by the lawn mower company, Briggs and Stratton. How’s that for a Maine accolade! To top it off it is a member of Select Registry Distinguished Hotels. All the more reason to visit this fabulous place in the north Maine woods. A four season recreational playground. Leave the kids at grandmas for this one!
Homemade Diner Pie: Moody’s Diner, Route 1, Waldoboro
We are not real big on the old-school pie culture that uses overly processed ingredients to try to make food taste good, but Moody’s gets our award for best diner pie. Whatever they put in it to make these delectable desserts curbside available on Route 1 will knock the socks off even those with the most discerning palate. The blueberry pie is to die for. Ant the chocolate cream pie….looks just like a picture taken from a 1963 McCall’s magazine. Yummy to the point of ridiculous. Even our vegan friends can handle these taste sensations on occasion.
Outstanding Blueberry Barren Views, Backroads, Franklin
There is no web-site to guide you to this visual feast. Just grab the Delorme Gazetteer and head up the hills into eastern Hancock County. The most gorgeous out of the way harvested blueberry field is on the backside of Schoodic Mountain at the base. The best car view is on Route 200 from the car. Just at the top of the hill above Hog Bay. Visit Hog Bay Farm while you are there to pick up or rake your won organic, prize-winning blueberries, www.hogbayberries.com. We still haven’t figured out what we love more, the blueberry barrens in season during August with the blueberry rakers harvesting the bounty or the off season of fall with the crimson colored fields ablaze with color. Also, the solace one finds in a snow covered field with granite boulders poking up under the blanket of snow is a treat for the eyes. Let’s not forget the burns of the spring when the fields are ablaze in preparation for the upcoming harvest. Any season the barrens are alive with energy.
Birds-eye View of Penobscot Bay: Caterpillar Hill, Route 15, Sedgewick
Some say this is the prettiest view in New England. Who can say, but however one sees it the spectacular perspective that this view offers is unparalleled in its beauty. The field with the striking boulders in the foreground, with the distant island views in Penobscot Bay and the Camden Hills as a backdrop are another one of Maine’s visual treats. Isle Au Haut and Merchants Row off to the south capture the sublime beauty of Deer Isle. Any time of year this view will leave you in a soulful and reflective frame of mind. Who knows how many thousands of artistic interpretations there are of this heavenly spot, but each one depicts a window into the minds of sensitive artists who have been able to capture the view. Go drive NOW to this great spot. Visit Kelly Mitchell at her gallery, the Gallery at Caterpillar Hill, Sedgewick.
Old World Charm Shoe Store: Colburn Shoes, Belfast, www.colburnshoe.com, 338-1934
Back when we summered in the Belgrade Lakes during the sixties my mom used to pack us kids up in the Country Squire Stationwagon and take day trips to the coast. Reed State Park, Bar Harbor, Camden and Bangor (to lunch at the Bangor House!) were our usual haunts. For me the biggest treat was the annual visit visiting to Colburn Shoes in what then was smelly Belfast. My lifelong shoe fetish had already developed, but was cultivated with annual purchases of Mary Janes and a new pair of Hush Puppies for the upcoming school year at Colburns. The owner was always there, waiting for me and my welcoming feet. The big metal thing that real shoe stores used to use to measure our feet was always on the floor awaiting my foot for the year’s new size…I was still growing, afterall. Great discussions would ensue between my mother and the owner as to whether I needed to go up that half size. Nobody ever asked me if the shoe fit, but in the end each pair would last me for the school year, always with room ”to grow”. Occasionally I still pop into Colburns and pick a pair up just to be sentimental. The metal measurer is still on the floor waiting for my foot. And the inventory is always carefully lined up on the shelves overhead. Time has not changed at Colburns Shoe. And you know what, they still carry Hush Puppies. However, I must confess that the Crocs and Tevas hold more interest to me, unless of course I am at Cole Haan in Freeport. But that’s another story.
Clothes with Guilt: Cole Haan, Main Street, Freeport, www.colehaan.com
Back in the day Dunham’s of Maine in Waterville was the arbiter of refined taste in Maine. My first shearling coat came from Dunham’s as well as my first really nice blouse, Hathaway, of course. However, college hippy dressing, lack of money and developing a more eclectic look took me further away from the Dunham of Maine look. Into my late 30’s I was once again seeking a sophisticated look, but sport needed to be added to the equation. Imagine my pleasure when I discovered Cole Haan in Freeport more than 20 years ago. And a Maine business to boot. Style, form, function and glamour all rolled into one. Jill McGowan blouses, www.jillmcgowan.com, Marc Andrew leather coats and all those fabulous leather goods made by Cole Haan. The seasonal sales are phenomenal and the ongoing shoe sale in the basement offer up great goodies at greatly reduced prices. If you are in the mood for attention and stellar service ask for Ken on the first floor. I’ve been dealing with him for years. He’ll let you in on the juicy sales.
Coffee Bar Comfort: Maine Grind, 192 Main Street, Ellsworth, 667-0011, www.mainegrind.com
Everytown needs a place for people to congregate and feel comfortable doing so without ending up at a bar. We have found that place in Ellsworth. It’s been hailed in the local press as “Ellsworth’s livingroom” and the honor is well-deserved. A charming atmosphere in a restored former Masonic Hall, the Maine Grind has a number of nooks and crannies, as well as buttery leather couches and chairs. The food offerings are simple and prepared with care, the coffee roasted by the popular roaster, Rock City in Rockland, www.rockcity.com. Micro-brews from all over, the daily New York Times as well as an interesting selection of gifts makes this place an ace in the hole. The customers and counter-help are convivial, chatty and clearly at ease in this new Ellsworth institution. .
Distinguished Maine Winery: Bartlett Maine Estate Winery, Gouldsboro, 546-2408, www.bartlettwinery.com
Bob and Cathy Bartlett at Bartlett Winery cut the rug for presentation, sophistication and marketing for artisanal food producers here in Maine. Everything they do reflects and oozes perfection, the highest of standards and care that small artisanal companies need to achieve to be ahead of their game. And they do it all themselves. Too many small companies now are run by the employees while the owner is out gallivanting around seeking more opportunities or simply on holiday. Not the Bartletts. They are involved in every aspect of their small, beautifully run operation. Vacations only occur when after the grapes have been pressed, the wine bottled and the distiller put on rest. Their pursuit of excellence and perfection have earned them not only awards and accolades for their prize-winning products, but for their standard setting ways within the Maine artisanal food culture. They create the best, most sophisticated fruit wines in the country and have been doing so for more than twenty years with their . winery being the oldest and largest in Maine. Bartlett Winery offers an expanding range of sophisticated, prize-winning varieties pressed on-site from native fruits. Pay them a visit on your next visit Downeast. Ask to see the new distiller, handcrafted by the Bartletts. It deserves to be in the Smithsonian.
Outstanding Smoked Seafood: Stonington Sea Products, Stonington. 367-2400, www.stoningseaproducts.com
Our Connoisseur’s Meter for Excellence shoots off the charts whenever we get near these tasty offerings. These outstanding artisanal smoked seafood products are handcrafted using Richard Penfold’s century-old Scottish cures. Richard, who moved to Maine from the Shetland Isles in 1997, creates exceptional smoked seafood in the Downeast coastal community of Stonington. The classic cold-smoked Atlantic salmon, the ever-popular finaan haddie and the tasty smoked trout are Penfold’s signature products. The smoked mussels, smoked Digby Dayboat Scallops and smoked Gulf of Maine shrimp round out his popular offerings and are simply irresistible. We just love the stuff and so do many others. The popular food writer David Rosengarten, www.rosegartenreports.com, says of Stonington Sea Products…”the finest Scottish-style salmon that I have ever tasted.” This is without a doubt the best smokehouse in Maine. Always worth a trip to Stonington to visit with Richard. His pleasant disposition, generous manner and hospitable nature are a rare find in the cut-throat seafood culture that so often permeates the fish industry. Richard reminds us of the importance that a genuine spirit can have within a small processing facility and what a difference that can make. We commend you Richard for your sincerity. Check out my blog for our delicious finnan haddie recipe. It’s to die for.
Outstanding Butchers, Bisson’s Meat Market, 112 Meadow Road, Topsham, 725-7215
Like Colburn’s Shoe in Belfast this is one of those old-timey businesses that has not changed with time. In business for over 75 years, Bisson’s Meat Market offers hand-cut quality meats, sausage, beef jerky, pepperoni, fresh raw milk, butter and other offerings in their store. These guys are the meat masters. Stop in to witness their age-old, family art form of cutting meat. And don’t leave without one of 88 year old Lorraine Bisson’s meat pies. She still comes in daily to whip up a batch. But please, don’t share this new-found knowledge with many other people. Bissons Meat Market is a Maine treasure that we don’t want shaped by too much popularity. Remember the transcendent experience of the original LL Bean? Popularity killed that wonderful place where you had to actually walk up a flight of creaky stairs to buy your bean boots. Keep this a secret for Mainers for all the same reasons.
Small Boat Yard: West Cove Boatyard, Sorrento, www.westcoveboat.com
The Maine coastline is peppered with hundreds of boat yards, all of them continuing the time honored Maine tradition of working on boats. Having owned a few boats and dealt with a few boat yards we have a voice of experience when it comes to this sensitive topic. We won’t go into detail about the well-known MDI boatyard back in the late 70’s that sank our 26 foot Contessa at the mooring while waiting the spring splash (oh, those pesky sea cocks). Or the time that the Eastern was on its first spring cruise only to discover the boatyard had put the steering mechanism in backwards. If you own a boat, you’ve got a story. Whether or not its owner inattention or boatyard failure, a non-working boat floating out in Penobscot Bay is no fun for anyone. Attention to detail, experience, knowledge and a love for boats is what makes a successful boatyard. We have found it in West Cove Boatyard in Sorrento. Recently sold to Christopher….West Cove Boatyard is the best choice for your boat to be looked after your already maintained boat anywhere east of Northeast Harbor.
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